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This is a deformed tree pod which I found in Flickr’s public files. I immediately thought it looked rather nasty, so I searched for a demon Bible verse. Do you see him sticking out his tongue at us? Maybe you’ll think I have a bit of an over active imagination, or maybe you’ll agree with me. 🙂 Either way, I hope you like my Word-Filled Wednesday and I wish you a fantastic week. Blessings to all of you. For more participants, visit Amy at The 160 Acre Woods.

Have you ever celebrated Pesach or Passover as Jesus did with His apostles for The Last Super?

Pictured here are samples of the Seder Plates used for the Passover dinner. Our church and several other churches in our area celebrate the seder meal each year and several newspaper articles have been written about it in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News. Has this Jewish celebration been adopted by your church, I wonder? If you are Jewish, I’d love to hear about your memories or what you look forward to each year during Passover.

“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.” Proverbs 27:19

Do you enjoy doing what you are doing in your life right now? Do you have a passion for your job or for your life? Sadly, many of us, perhaps even most of us, answer a resounding “NO!!”. That should be a huge red flag for all of us. What are our joys in life? What are our hobbies? What are our passions? What do we love?

Rick Warren is not the only one to tell us that we should follow our heart’s desires. Psychologists tell us too. Career counselors tell us. Highly successful and renown people tell us. The Bible tells us.

Do we listen? Really listen? Or do we say “Yeah, yeah, I know,” but keep doing the same old rat race, the same old daily grind, the same old rut?

Have no worries, God will use that daily grind purposefully too, but it should lead you somewhere, not keep you stuck in it like quick sand or even cement.

Take the time right now to ponder about what you are enthusiastic or passionate about. Go on, think. Don’t read another word.

First, Rick Warren discusses how we accept our assignment from God. He tells us we were created, saved, called and commanded to serve God. We can serve God directly or indirectly. When we serve others, we are also serving God. Guess who we serve if we are serving neither God, nor others.

God often likes to have the least likely person serve. Moses stuttered, yet he spoke to all the slaves of Egypt and even to Pharaoh. Thomas doubted, yet he was one of the apostles to spread Christianity. Who are you? Are you a Jonah, an Elijah, a Martha, a Paul or a Timothy? It doesn’t matter to God if you appear under qualified or even totally wrong for the job. To God, you are absolutely perfect.

“These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” Habakkuk 2:3

God is always telling me to wait. It seems I have to wait for just about everything from the most mundane to the most important.

When we think about it, our entire life is nothing but a waiting period. We wait nine months to be born on earth and we wait an entire lifetime to be born into our eternal life.

God’s time is based on eternity. What may seem like eternity for us on earth is the blink of an eye to God.

There is a lesson to be learned. If you’ll allow and forgive the trivial allegory, while we pray: “God give me patience, and I want it right now,” God answers “We will sell no wine before its time.”*

We are the wine and the Vine’s branches. It takes an entire lifetime for us to learn the good, unlearn the not so good, and form our character traits.

Rick Warren asks us “Where in your spiritual growth are you having to be patient because there seems to be little progress?” In which areas do you need to be patient and persistent?

*Advertising slogan for Paul Mason Winery. The Orson Wells commercials aired during the late 70’s and early 80’s.

“Fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable” Philippians 4:8

Rick Warren gives us a concise plan for defeating the devil’s temptations. When evil thoughts keep attacking our mind, he tells us to focus our attention on something else. We need to distract ourselves.

The second step is to find a friend or support group to help us when we feel vulnerable. Someone to listen and help us through our struggles.

Know our Bible verses to use as powerful ammunition. Jesus himself taught us to quote verses to Satan. We can’t do that if we have not memorized verses. Warren recommends a verse a week.

Warren made me laugh when he wrote not to argue with the devil, because he is “better at arguing than you are, having had thousands of years to practice.” In that light, boy are we completely inexperienced newborn babies so dependent on our Father.

Just like newborns, we are totally vulnerable and therefore need to stay away from temptation, because once in the middle of it, it will be much harder to resist.